Three-way socket



Oct. 4, 1927. 1,644,593 y W. ILE

THREE -WAY SOCKET Filed yJune 1l. 1925 2 Sl'xeecs--Shee'ci l Oct.`4,1927.V w ILE 4 1,644,593

THREE-WAY SOCKET Fi1ed`June 11. 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I n,

5, mmm; ya,

31a/vanto Patented st. 4, 1.927, l

UNITED STATES tristes sur @irlfffpi g .PAT

WILLIAM-ILE, or Jackson, MICHrsANyAssreivon To environne SPRING COMPANY,or. i

Jamison, MICHIGAN, A. CORPORATION or DELAWARE.

runen-WAY sooner.

Application let .Tune 11, 1925. SerialvNo. 36,504.

v The invention relates to a three vway socket. l

The object of the present invention is lo provide' a simple, practicaland efficient three way cluster lamp socket ot strong,

durable and comparatively inexpensive con struction designed either toreceive lamps orior tapping a circuitlor other purposes equipped with aninsulating body .molded ora single piece or" Bakelite orother'insulating material and having conductor bars embedded in it andadapted to afford rigid Vcomiections vwhich vwill not becomeVV loosewhen the lamp or other threaded element is screwedV into or out of thesockets.

` A further object of the `'invention is to provide a three way socketof this character equipped with spaced projecting Contact ngers adaptedto engagea iixture to conneet the three way socket with the same and nalso to engage a screw plug for enabling the two way sockety to beconnected with 'a fixture or other. socket having a screw shell contactsimilar to ythe two way socket shown and described in copendingapplication No. 29,147, iled May 9, 1925,

l/Vith these and otherobjects in view, the inventionl consists in theconstruction and novel combinationA and farrangement of partshereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings andpointed out inthe claims hereto appended, it being understood thatvarious. changes in the form, proportion and minor details ofconstruction, within the scope ofthe claims, may be` resorted to withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 isy a si le'elevation ot a three way socket constructed in,accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same. A i

Fig. 3l isa vertical longitudinal sectional view of lthe threewayso'zket.'

i Fig. 4f is a plan view'of the same.

Fig. 5 is a reverse plan view ot'one oi the side OCkets. l Y f isareverse plan view of the central socket. v

Fig. 7 is a reverse plan view of the other side socket.` i f u Fig. 8.is a plan 'View of one of the shell comme f Fig. 9`is a plan view, oflone of theinsu lating disks.' lIn the accompanying drawings in which isillustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, the three waysocket is equipped with an 'insulating body Icoiisisting or a singlepiece of molded Bakelite'or n other suitable material having shell' andcenter contact conductor bars 2 landB moldi ed in it andprojectingfromthe top of the body to'fform apair of Vspaced Contact ing'gers 4, andy5. The insulating body consists ot' a central depending socket 'anddownwardly diver'ging side sockets 7 vand 8 locatedv 'at opposite sidesofthe central socketas clear-- ly'illustrated in Fig. 3 of thedrawings,` The central and side sockets are formed'fintegral with anupper solid body portion 9I in which the conductorbars and 5 aremoldedan'd the said upper solid body portion is prefer'- ably providedat the top:` withr an annular enlargement 10 projecting atopposite'sidesoi' the solid upper portion 9 and reinforced and supported by-websilllocated at op'- posite sides of the said upper portion 9. The

solid' upper portion 9 which liesy abovethev central *sockety andbetween the side v sockets has iat side faces and tapers downwardly asclearly shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings and it is of a width less thanthat ofthe sockets as shown. The enlarged cireular `upperportion 10 isadapted to receive a cap as shown and described in theaforesa'id ap"-plication to equip the three way socket with a screw'plug atI the topandthe 'said en larged upper portion is lprovidedwith a circumferentialrecessl2 to enable lit to i-t within a'ca'p and it is also equipped withan interiorly threaded bushing 13 embedded in the insulating'body andprovided at'the lower'end with'a corrugated flange 14 forsecurelyanchoring the bushing within the molded material. "The bushing'is adapted to receive' a threaded'bolt as explained-lin the aforesaidapplication and the corrugated flange will preventany VrotaryVriioveinent'of ythe vbush-ing when screwing lthebolt into or beads orribs 18 and 19 which are connected at their adjacent ends as clearlyshowi'i in Fig. 1 of the drawings. By Vthis construction a socket ofincreased strength and durability is provided with a minimum amount ofBakelite or other insulating material.

The upwardly projecting portions 4L and 5 of the conductor bars 2 and 3are oppositely tapered at their ends and are provided adjacent to thesame with annularly bevelled or counter-sunk perforations 2O to enableprojection blades 4 and 5 to form an `efficient Velectrical connectionwith coacting contacts of a fixture orv cap to which the three waysocket may be applied. YThe j shell contact conductor bar 2 is approximately L-shaped and consists of a vertical and a horizontal portion andis embedded in the molding ofthe insulating body at the intermediatesolid portion thereof as clearly shown in` Fig. 3 of the drawing. ThevertiJ cal portion ofithe conductor bar 2 extends downwardlyapproximately to the central portion of the solid part of the insulatingbody and then horizontally to the side socket 7 and its end portion 21is slightly enlarged and arranged at an inclination and is exposedinteriorl of the-socket 7 at the top wall thereof or contactl with thescrew shell contact 22. The screw shell contact 22 which is arrangedA inthe inclined side socket 7 is provided at its upper end with the usualannular flange 23 `which fits against and electrically contacts with theinclined terminal 21 of the conductor bar 2.

This establishes an electrical connection between vthe shell contact 22and the conductor bar 2. The center andside sockets 6 and 8 are providedwith similar shell con ymi of. The insulating body is provided at thetop wall of the side socket 7 withspaced projecting ledges 27 and 28formed integral with the insulating body and having their exterior facesarranged in the plane of the exterior contacting face of the terminalv21of the conductor bar 2 to provide abutting facesI or surfaces for theange of theshell contact of the socket 7 so that the shellcontact willfit irmly'in the socket 7 in proper concentric relation thereto.Electrical connectionis'established between the shell contacts bysoldering the adjacent contiguous portions thereof as indicated at 29,apertures being provided at the top of` thecenter `socket 6' at oppositesides thereof to establish communication between the center socket andthe side sockets at the said points andthe shell contacts are'perforatedat their contiguous portions to permit effective soldering thereof atthe said points 29.

The shell contacts are retained firmly in the sockets of the insulatingbody by insulating disks 30 of grey fiber or other suitable materialfitted against the lower faces of' the flanges 23 and. provided withcentral openings 31 through which passes the means for attaching centercontacts 32 at the centers ofthe sockets 6, 7 and 3. The center contactseach consist of a strip of suitable conducting material bent intoapproximately U-shape to provide upper and lower portions, The lowerportion is Vstamped or otherwise established to form a cup-shapedprotuberance 33 presenting a convex lower surface for electrical Contactwith a lamp' plug or other fixture. The lower sides of the centercontacts are adapted to Abe bent upwardly or downwardly to arrange themout of the way when attaching the center contacts and the securing meansand also for the purpose of setting the lower portions of the centercontacts in proper position to provide the proper electrical connectionbetween the center Contact and 'the lamp for' other light.

The center contact conductor bar 3 is also approximately L-shaped andconsists of a vertical and horizontal portion'. vertical portion extendsbelowthe plane of the horizontal portion of the conductor bar 2 and isprovided with a short horizontal arm or portion 34 and is pierced by aconductor yoke 35 extending horizontally along the upper solid portionof the insulating body and having downwardly diverging terminals 36which project from the top walls of the side sockets 7 and 8 at thecenters thereof for the attachment of the center contacts .of the saidside'sockets. The inclined terminal portions V36 constitute rivets andare headed to secure the vcenter contacts to the yoke, The yoke rmlycon-= nects the centercontacts of the side sockets and securelyfastensthe shell Vcontacts and the insulating disks in the said sockets.The conductor bar 3 and the yoket are embedded in the solidportion ofthe insulating body in the molding thereof and theshort'horizontal armof the conductor bar 3 terminates at the central vertical axis of thebody and is provided with a rivet 37 preferably of tubular formV andextending downwardly and Vprojecting from the center `rof the top wallof the center socket and forming-'an electrical and mechanicalconnection for the attachment of the center contact of the said centersocket. The lower end of the attaching member or rivet 37 is headed tosecure The its center contact to it. The conductor bars and conductoryoke and the bushing 13 are embedded in the insulating material andmolded in the insulating body and it will be clear that the projectingterminals of the connecting member of the conductor bar 3 and aconductor yoke 35 thereof afford means for enabling the shell contactsand center contacts to be rapidly assembled and firmly secured to theinsulating body. Also'it will be clear that the solid approximately triangular upper portion ofthe insulating body constitutes a iirm supportfor the said conconductor elements and firmly braces andv supports thecenter and side sockets and'is providedwith means for enabling the threeway socket to be applied to fixtures either by the projecting lingers orblades 4 and 5 or by a screw plug cap secured to the upper portion ofthe body.`

What is claimed is:

l. A three way socket including a singlepiece molded insulating bodycomprising a solid uppery portion and center and side sockets dependingfrom the solid upper portion, a shell contact conductor bar embedded inthe solid upper portion and projecting from vthe top thereof andextending t-o one of the side sockets and having its inner termi- -nalexposed at the top of 'such socket, shell contacts arranged within thesockets and electrically connected with one another and with the saidinner terminal, a center contact conductor bar spaced from the saidconductor bar and provided with a short arm terminating centrally of theinsulating body, a conducting and attaching member carried by the saidshort arm andprojecting at the center socket, a conductor yoke extendingacross the insulating body between the arms' of the conductor bars andconnected intermediate its ends withv the center contact -conpiecemolded insulating body comprising a` solid upper portion, annularlydepending central and side sockets, a shell contact conductor barembedded in the solid upper portion and projecting from the top thereofand having an army extending to one of the side l sockets and providedwith aninclined terminal exposed at the top of such socket, shellcontacts arranged within the sockets and electrically connected with oneanother and withthe said inclined terminal, a center contact conductorbar spaced vfrom the said conductor bar and embedded in the solid upperportion projecting at the top thereof and extending below the arm of thesaid conductor bar and provided with a short arm terminating centrallyof the insulating body, a conducting and attaching member carried by thesaid arm and projecting at the center of the center socket, a conductoryoke extending horizontally along the insulating body and piercing thecenter contact conductor bar and having oppositely inclined downwardlydiverging terminals projecting at the centers of the side sockets,insulating disks mounted on the terminals of the yoke and the saidattaching member and center contacts secured to the ends of the yoke andthe attaching member.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM ILE.

